[UPDATE] The Last Guardian Creator Quits Sony

Sony confirms The Team Ico director has packed up his bags and moved on.

Updated Story: Sony has confirmed to Gamasutra that Fumito Ueda has indeed left employment at Sony, as was rumored at the beginning of the month. However, work on The Last Guardian will continue on a contractual basis, with Fumito freelancing the gig until it's completed.

The Last Guardian was pushed back to 2012 last we heard. Who knows what affect this whole situation will have on the game's release window.

Original Story: This is old news as of yesterday, but better late than never, right? Eurogamer is reporting that Team Ico director and lead designer Fumito Ueda has quit Sony, choosing to finish up work on his current project, The Last Guardian, in a “freelance capacity.” After that’s done, Ueda is moving on to “personal projects,” which could, in theory, have nothing to do with game development at all.

The Last Guardian has been delayed more times than we can count at this point, with the most recent one pushing the title back from 2011 and into 2012. It’s being speculated that Ueda’s departure from Sony is one of the root causes.

When reached out for confirmation, Sony responded that they don’t comment on rumors and speculation. That’s not a good sign, but until we get official confirmation or denial, this news is technically still considered a rumor.

But for everyone’s sake, let’s hope this news isn’t true. The creator of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus would be sorely missed in the house that Sony built.